Methods Used to Support Dietary Assessment Accuracy in Young Children: A Scoping Review
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Nutrition and Public Health Sciences, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- 2Center for Nutrition and Health Impact, Omaha, NE 68022, USA
- 3College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- 4University Libraries, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Among young children, self-reported dietary assessment has unique challenges, limiting ability to accurately assess intake. This review describes methods used to support accuracy of self-reported dietary intake, including support tools, proxy reporting, and methods to determine diet misreporting and its prevalence, for assessing energy intake (EI) among young children (2–12 years). Methods: Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, relevant databases were searched in October 2024 and November 2025. Studies published since 2000, using a self-reported dietary assessment methodology and reporting on total EI among children between the ages of 2 and 12 years, were included. Two reviewers completed title and abstract screening. After achieving a 94% inter-rater agreement on full-text review of a random sample of 20% of texts, the remaining full texts were reviewed by a single reviewer. Results: The 52 included articles reported 24-h dietary recalls (n = 23) and food records (n = 14) as the most common individual assessment methods. The use of at least one support tool (i.e., visual aids, household utensils) was commonly reported (n = 36); however, using multiple support tools (n = 13) or technology-based supports (n = 1) was less common. Proxy reporting was frequently reported (n = 31) and occurred in all studies in which children were ≤ 5 years; however, few studies used multiple-proxy reporters (n = 6). A limited number of studies (n = 9; 17%) reported that caregivers and children were trained for the dietary assessment, but none actually described in detail what the training entailed for using support tools or proxy reporting. Only 40% of studies reported procedures for identifying dietary misreporting; among those that did, methodologies varied, yet all identified evidence of dietary misreporting. Conclusions: Self-reported dietary assessment used varying strategies to support assessment accuracy. Evaluating which support tool, combination of support tools, or the use of proxy or multiple-proxy reporters, relative to the burden that may be associated with their use, on increasing accuracy of self-reported dietary intake is needed. Additionally, details on implemented methodologies need to be consistently reported to support replication.
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BibTeX
@article{pratt2026methods,
title = {{Methods Used to Support Dietary Assessment Accuracy in Young Children: A Scoping Review}},
author = {Emilie Holloway Pratt and Elizabeth Anderson Steeves and Katie Kavanagh and Angela Fidler Pfammatter and Niki Cobb and Hollie A. Raynor},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18213631},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3631},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Methods Used to Support Dietary Assessment Accuracy in Young Children: A Scoping Review
AU - Emilie Holloway Pratt
AU - Elizabeth Anderson Steeves
AU - Katie Kavanagh
AU - Angela Fidler Pfammatter
AU - Niki Cobb
AU - Hollie A. Raynor
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/31
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18213631
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3631
AB - Background/Objectives: Among young children, self-reported dietary assessment has unique challenges, limiting ability to accurately assess intake. This review describes methods used to support accuracy of self-reported dietary intake, including support tools, proxy reporting, and methods to determine diet misreporting and its prevalence, for assessing energy intake (EI) among young children (2–12 years). Methods: Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, relevant databases were searched in October 2024 and November 2025. Studies published since 2000, using a self-reported dietary assessment methodology and reporting on total EI among children between the ages of 2 and 12 years, were included. Two reviewers completed title and abstract screening. After achieving a 94% inter-rater agreement on full-text review of a random sample of 20% of texts, the remaining full texts were reviewed by a single reviewer. Results: The 52 included articles reported 24-h dietary recalls (n = 23) and food records (n = 14) as the most common individual assessment methods. The use of at least one support tool (i.e., visual aids, household utensils) was commonly reported (n = 36); however, using multiple support tools (n = 13) or technology-based supports (n = 1) was less common. Proxy reporting was frequently reported (n = 31) and occurred in all studies in which children were ≤ 5 years; however, few studies used multiple-proxy reporters (n = 6). A limited number of studies (n = 9; 17%) reported that caregivers and children were trained for the dietary assessment, but none actually described in detail what the training entailed for using support tools or proxy reporting. Only 40% of studies reported procedures for identifying dietary misreporting; among those that did, methodologies varied, yet all identified evidence of dietary misreporting. Conclusions: Self-reported dietary assessment used varying strategies to support assessment accuracy. Evaluating which support tool, combination of support tools, or the use of proxy or multiple-proxy reporters, relative to the burden that may be associated with their use, on increasing accuracy of self-reported dietary intake is needed. Additionally, details on implemented methodologies need to be consistently reported to support replication.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -